Tarot Card Reading on Making Life Changes: The Directions of Our
Lives

By Gina Rabbin

In Bryce Courtney's book "The Power of One", the main character Peekay muses that "Sometimes
the slightest things change the directions of our lives, the merest breath of a circumstance, a random moment that
connects like a meteorite striking the earth. Lives have swiveled and changed direction on the strength of a chance
remark." A client I've been working with for several years will attest to that statement, as she finds her life
dramatically shifting in a way that she could never have imagined.

For years, Monika has seen herself as a career woman. Now in her mid-fifties, she started her own consulting business
when her marriage ended about ten years ago. She has focused her life since then on building her company, making
a name for herself, and creating a strong financial foundation. She enjoyed her independent lifestyle, had many friends
with whom she spent her time, and was actively involved in her community. Monika was quite content with her life.

Our recent sessions had revolved around Monika's desire to expand her business. She wasn't sure of the form it would
take, and needed some guidance in that area. As she gained clarity, she began to formulate plans to put the changes
into motion. A spontaneous dinner with friends who were entertaining an out-of-town guest changed everything.

The guest turned out to be a widower about ten years younger than Monika. A doctor in a small coastal town in another
state, he was raising two teenage daughters on his own. Their meeting was like Peekay's meteorite striking the earth.
Within two months, Monika had referred her clients to another consultant, put her home up for sale, moved to this
small town, and started planning her wedding. In our final session before she left, Monika was still somewhat overwhelmed
at this startling direction her life was taking. "I'm going to be a small-town doctor's wife," she said. "I'm
going to be a step-mom to teenagers. I don't quite know how this happened. I thought I knew where my life was heading,
and it didn't include a husband and kids!" Then she smiled as she added, "I've never felt more in alignment
with my life than I do right now. Who would have believed that a last-minute dinner with friends would completely
alter my life."

Monika's acceptance of the radical change in her life, her willingness to surrender to the absolutely unexpected
shifts and embrace the unknown, caused me to reflect on my own life. Where have I been presented with the opportunity
to follow a new path, one that I had never even thought of before? And did I take this path, or did I allow my fear
of the unknown to stop me? Had I embraced the change, as Monika had, or did I determinedly stick to the route I had
chosen without allowing myself the freedom to experience a new direction? If you were to reflect on your life, what
answers would you find?

I wondered what it is that allows some people to jump off that cliff into a mysterious new life, while others choose
to stay on the tried-and-true path. We might want to automatically identify "fear of the unknown" as the
reason for avoiding or denying the unexpected changes, but as Monika admitted for herself, most people who take that
leap acknowledge they are not without fear. It feels as if it must be something deeper, so of course I turn to my
tarot cards to help me go to that deeper place in search of an answer.

The first card I pull is the Ace of Wands. This beautiful card speaks of the essence, the deep
core, of our spiritual energy, that primal spark of life. It is our connection to our inner passion, to the fire
that burns within. When we allow ourselves to feel that fire, when we allow ourselves to sink into that place of
oneness, there is a sense that what is wanting to burst forth cannot be denied.

With the Ace of Wands is the Three of Wands - the cards seem to fall out of the deck at the same
time. The Three of Wands is our knowing that what is wanting to come into being out of the Ace of Wands is already
written, it is already manifest. We simply need to accept it, to receive it into our lives. We may not know what
it looks like, or how it will show up, but we know what it feels like, because we've touched that fire within.

Of course, being the human beings that we are, we might hesitate at surrendering to that unknown something that
we're told already exists. The Hanged Man, the next card to speak, calls on us to surrender to whatever
is unfolding. This card asks us if we have the courage and the faith to turn our lives upside down, to let everything
we have and everything we are fall away. Monika welcomed The Hanged Man energy in an extreme way, by giving away
all her material possessions and saying goodbye to her friends and family, without knowing what was waiting for her
on the other side of the country.

She was willing to accept the Eight of Cups in her life, as well. The Eight of Cups, the fourth
card pulled on this quest for understanding and clarity, is that part of us that willingly leaves behind all we know
to begin our journey towards the unknown. While there may be sorrow in this leaving, there is also great joy, because
there is that deeper part of us that knows we are walking forward to our new life, one that has been written for
us by a power greater than we are.

Which brings us to the experience of Temperance, the final card to step out of the deck. The energy
of Temperance is the perfect expression of our perfect self, the merging of our subconscious with our conscious,
the flow of spirit into matter. Temperance tells us that our willingness to feel the fire of our primal energy, to
surrender to the unknown, and to have faith that what is written is greater than anything we could plan for ourselves,
unfolds into a life of perfect harmony and balance.

So, do I have my answer? Do I know what causes some people to leap into the unknown while others remain on the edge
of the cliff? It is a deep faith that cannot be shaken by fear or doubt that seems to be the catalyst. May we all
have the courage to allow the burst of the Ace of Wands to propel us into the unplanned life, rather than extinguish
that fire within us. And for those of you wondering how Monika's leap into the unknown has turned out, I'm happy
to say that she is the embodiment of Temperance, as happy as can be, living a life she could never have imagined,
a life of perfect harmony and balance.

I welcome reader questions! If there is an issue you would like to see addressed in a future column, please email
me at
(Please note that real names of clients are never used in this column.)

Gina
Rabbin is a life-long intuitive and catalyst for clarity. She helps people clarify and resolve their personal and
professional issues in order to create more fulfilling and meaningful lives. Currently residing in San Francisco,
CA, Gina is available for tarot card readings in person or by telephone. For more information, please visit http://www.ginarabbin.com.